In this episode, join internationally acclaimed physician andauthor Dr. Jen Gunter in conversation with Festival artist Maev Beaty for a frank and empowering discussion about women’s health and bodies. Known as “Twitter’s resident gynecologist” and “the Internet’s OB/GYN,” the Winnipeg-born author of The Menopause Manifesto, The Vagina Bible and Blood: The Science, Medicine, and Mythology of Menstruation brings her signature candour and science-based insights to the Forum for a conversation about reclaiming women’s health from stigma andmisinformation.
Support for The Meighen Forum is generously provided by Kelly & Michael Meighen and the T.R. Meighen Family Foundation.
In this episode, join world-renowned voice coach and author Patsy Rodenburg in conversation with the Stratford Festival’s former Head of Voice, Janine Pearson, as they explore Rodenburg’s groundbreaking work on women’s empowerment through voice. Drawing on her influential books The Right to Speak, Speaking Shakespeare and The Second Circle, as well as her latest work The Woman’s Voice, Rodenburg discusses how women can reclaim their voices and define the art of accessing the power within to speak with authenticity and authority.Support for The Meighen Forum is generously provided by Kelly & Michael Meighen and the T.R. Meighen Family Foundation.
In this episode, former associate artistic director at Artists Repertory Theatre Jon Kretzu; emeritus research scientist and former resident bear biologist with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources Dr. Martyn Obbard; and this season’s Leontes Graham Abbey, as moderator, explore Shakespeare’s famous stage direction, “Exit, pursued by a bear.” Together they consider what bears would have meant to Elizabethan audiences at a time when the animals were extinct in Britain and much of Europe, and discuss the broader context of animal metaphors throughout Shakespeare’s plays.
Support for The Meighen Forum is generously provided by Kelly & Michael Meighen and the T.R. Meighen Family Foundation.
In this episode, join renowned Shakespeare scholar, general editor of The Norton Shakespeare and Harvard University Professor Stephen Greenblatt in conversation with Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino, commemorating Greenblatt’s new book, Second Chances: Shakespeare and Freud. Together, they discuss how “Shakespeare was the supreme virtuoso of the second chance and Freud was its supreme interpreter.”
Support for The Meighen Forum is generously provided by Kelly & Michael Meighen and the T.R. Meighen Family Foundation.
In this episode, join screenwriter, director and translator of Dangerous Liaisons, Sir Christopher Hampton; Harvard University literature professor Deidre Lynch; and Canadian author Amal El-Mohtar, as they explore the history of letter writing and its influence on literature and society. From the rise of technology that reshaped personal connections to the development of the epistolary novel, the panel offers a titillating and scholarly exploration of the psychology behind our tastes and the misunderstandings that different forms of communication can cause – moderated by this season’s Marquise de Merteuil, Jessica B. Hill.
Support for The Meighen Forum is generously provided by Kelly & Michael Meighen and the T.R. Meighen Family Foundation.
In this episode, join playwright and actor in Forgiveness Hiro Kanagawa, Editor of the Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia Dr. Anne Nothof and Canadian Studies scholar Peter Hodgins as they examine Canadian cultural identity and explore questions such as, 'How do we define Canadian theatre and art? How exactly does our cultural mosaic influence this definition?'
Together, they examine the interplay between art and identity in Canada, discussing how people’s differences shape their understanding of themselves and the importance of Canadian art showcasing diverse narratives on the stage, both locally and globally.
Support for The Meighen Forum is generously provided by Kelly & Michael Meighen and the T.R. Meighen Family Foundation.
In this episode, join playwright Erin Shields, Nehiyaw storyteller Trina Moyan, and University of Toronto professor Adriana Brook as they explore storytelling as a transformative force across time. From the origins of Greek epic poetry and its roots in oral tradition to its transition to the written page, the panel reflects on how stories like Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey continue to shape culture today. Discover how ancient narratives and modern adaptations such as Shields’ Ransacking Troy reveal the enduring human impulse to share stories as a way of understanding the world.
Support for The Meighen Forum is generously provided by Kelly & Michael Meighen and the T.R. Meighen Family Foundation.
Note: Transcript coming soon.
What happens when the spotlight suddenly shifts, and someone must step in at a moment’s notice? In this episode, stage manager Maxwell T. Wilson (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), swing and co-dance captain Anthony MacPherson, and assistant director/casting associate Aaron Jan (The Winter’s Tale) join moderator Monique Lund (Annie) for a candid discussion about the essential but often unsung work of understudies and swings. From the discipline it takes to track multiple roles to the courage required to perform with little warning, they share behind-the-scenes stories that reveal why these artists are true guardians of “the show must go on.”
Support for The Meighen Forum is generously provided by Kelly & Michael Meighen and the T.R. Meighen Family Foundation.
How does sound shape the way we experience a story on stage? In this episode, sound designer Debashis Sinha (Anne of Green Gables) and composer/sound designer Verne Good (Twelfth Night, 2024) join Associate Forum Coordinator James Hyett for an illuminating conversation about the artistry behind theatre’s sonic world. From the delicate serenity of birdsong to the jarring pulse of a jackhammer, they reveal how music, effects, and ambient sound work together to deepen character, set tone, and transport audiences.
Support for The Meighen Forum is generously provided by Kelly & Michael Meighen and the T.R. Meighen Family Foundation.
Why are audiences so captivated by characters who blur (or outright cross) the moral line? In this episode, theatre critic Chris Jones is joined by veteran Festival actors Tom McCamus and Jonathan Goad for a thought-provoking conversation about what makes a compelling villain. Drawing on their roles in Macbeth and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, they explore ego, desire, and the enduring appeal of the morally compromised.
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels has been extended to November 23. Don’t miss this “Critic’s Pick” from The Globe and Mail, where cheering for the bad guys has never been so fun.
Support for The Meighen Forum is generously provided by Kelly & Michael Meighen and the T.R. Meighen Family Foundation.
We kick off the 2025 season of the Everyday Forum Podcast with a lively chat with cultural commentator Stephen Marche. He talks with the Festival's Artistic Director, Antoni Cimolino, and André Sills, actor and assistant director of Macbeth, about reimagining Shakespeare’s plays for the stage.
Support for The Meighen Forum is generously provided by Kelly & Michael Meighen and the T.R. Meighen Family Foundation.
The Body Politic was Canada's primary queer periodical from 1971 to 1987. It amplified the lives of queer people and helped galvanize the gay and lesbian liberation movement. Join Raegan Swanson, Executive Director of The ArQuives, Nicholas Hrynyk of Thompson Rivers University and Tim McCaskell, writer, activist and collective member of The Body Politic as they delve into the history of queer news in Canada.
Support for The Meighen Forum is generously provided by Kelly & Michael Meighen and the T.R. Meighen Family Foundation.
In this conversation moderated by actor Khadijah Roberts-Abdullah with Assistant Professor of University of Toronto and Director of the Southeast Asian Seminar Series at the Asian Institute, Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, Elizabeth Wijaya, Co-Executive Director of Artistic Freedom Initiative, Ashley Tucker, and playwright Achiro Olwoch, the history and modern-day realities of censorship are examined, along with the reasons art is censored and the ways artists resist being silenced.
Support for The Meighen Forum is generously provided by Kelly & Michael Meighen and the T.R. Meighen Family Foundation.
Co-authors Douglas Sanderson (Amo Binashii) and Andrew Stobo Sniderman discuss their acclaimed book, Valley of the Birdtail: An Indian Reserve, a White Town, and the Road to Reconciliation. In this conversation moderated by Dr. Lee Myers, the authors dive deeper into how two communities became separate and unequal—and what it means for the rest of us.
Support for The Meighen Forum is generously provided by Kelly & Michael Meighen and the T.R. Meighen Family Foundation.
The "Golden Age" of children's literature (roughly 1850s-1910s) marked a period of innovation and creativity in children's books, giving rise to many enduring classics that continue to captivate and inspire generations of readers. In this conversation moderated by director, teacher, and actor Allen MacInnis, acclaimed children's author Kenneth Oppel (Silverwing) and expert in young people 's texts and cultures, Professor Mavis Reimer from the University of Winnipeg will discuss the pivotal role writers like J.M. Barrie (author of Peter Pan) and his counterparts played in shaping the way we think about and create literature for young readers.
Support for The Meighen Forum is generously provided by Kelly & Michael Meighen and the T.R. Meighen Family Foundation.
Ecodrama is a new approach to telling stories about the climate crisis through live performance. It invites theatre companies to choose sustainable and decarbonizing pathways of production and provides a public forum for thinking about how to live through calamities with collective resilience and hope. Learn more about ecodrama with Canadian playwright Colleen Murphy, Shakespeare professor Randall Martin and Elizabeth Freestone from the University of Birmingham.
Support for The Meighen Forum is generously provided by Kelly & Michael Meighen and the T.R. Meighen Family Foundation.
The work of Shakespeare is known across the globe, exploring universal experiences, lending itself to culturally specific adaptations, and being used as an instrument of imperialism. Join Rodrigo Beilfuss, Artistic Director of Shakespeare in the Ruins, and PJ Prudat, Co-Artistic Director of Shakespeare in the Ruff, with moderator Jessica B. Hill as they discuss the meaning of Shakespeare worldwide.
Support for The Meighen Forum is generously provided by Kelly & Michael Meighen and the T.R. Meighen Family Foundation.
What are theatres doing to welcome audiences (and artists) who have barriers to participating in performance arts? Join Stratford Festival’s former Accessibility Coordinator Kayla Besse, Disability Dramaturgy scholar Dr. Jessica Watkin and Theatre Passe Muraille Artistic Director Marjorie Chan in a panel discussion moderated by Maev Beaty, discussing how theatres have been making their work and their spaces more accessible, and the goals they continue to work towards in service of greater inclusion.
Support for The Meighen Forum is generously provided by Kelly & Michael Meighen and the T.R. Meighen Family Foundation.
From Harcourt's "foppishness" to Zaza's sequins, men's fashion throughout history has been a source of oppression and an avenue for liberation. Join La Cage aux Folles costume designer David Boechler and London Assurance costume designer Francesca Callow, along with Nishi Bassi, curator and manager of exhibitions at the Bata Shoe Museum, as they discuss the history of men's fashion and societal expectations of gender presentation. Moderated by James Hyett.
Support for The Meighen Forum is generously provided by Kelly & Michael Meighen and the T.R. Meighen Family Foundation.
Multifaceted drag performer, model and dancer Lemon makes her Meighen Forum debut in this intimate and up-close conversation with actor and director Thom Allison. Lemon talks about her amazing journey from her hometown of Pickering, Ontario, to becoming the break-out star of both Canada’s Drag Race and RuPaul’s Drag Race UK vs the World.
Support for The Meighen Forum is generously provided by Kelly & Michael Meighen and the T.R. Meighen Family Foundation.